Phoenix Rising Boutique Giveaway Details!

I am happy proud to announce my first giveaway for Phoenix Rising Boutique!  *YAY!  Cheers & applauds roar the crowd!*  This giveaway is to celebrate the New Year and the new goals that I have in my life.  I actually started my boutique about two months ago and have been really slow to get it going.  I am thankful for those family and friends who have supported me thus far.  I have put a lot of time (and money) into this and I would just like to reap some of the hard work I have been doing so what better way than to do a giveaway!  I would like to thank Jasmine Rose (@JazzyTe007) for supporting me when I reached out to her.  PLEASE go check out her YouTube channel as she is AWESOME!  She talks about fashion, makeup, JIY/DIY's, and most of all community.  She is all about giving back and reaching out to help someone!  Here's a link to her channel and her blog!

Okay, so enough with the intro and into the details about the giveaway!

1. You must "Like" my Facebook page, Phoenix Rising Boutique.  My page is www.facebook.com/shopphoenixrising or just click here!
2. Write one of your New Year's Resolutions in the comment section under the giveaway post!  Please be specific and try to limit your resolution to one specific thing.
3. Name the quote from my blog dated for today (December 29, 2013) along with your comment.

Winner will be selected at random and contacted through Facebook.  Giveaway ends 12/31/2013 at 11:59PM EST.  Winner will be contacted via Facebook on the Phoenix Rising Boutique page.  The winner has 24 hours to respond on the page or forfeit their winnings and another winner will be selected.  Good luck and Happy New Year's!

Peace & Happiness!

~Erika~

Outfit of the Days

I decided that I wanted to start doing outfit of the days. This is part of me opening up for 2014 and making myself happy. I have taken a pledge to plunge more into things that I like and make me happy. Not only make me happy but make me feel and look good! What better way than to express myself through fashion. I kind of feel like I'm jumping on a bandwagon, but if that bandwagon is willing to take me to a happy place, I'm all for it!

OOTD--"Stripe Me Down"

Top--Charlotte Russe

Bottoms--Target

Shoes--UrbanOg

Shades--Forever21

As I was writing this blog, I had the GRAND idea to get my fiance involved with OOTD as well.  I figured maybe we can be a tag team/duo like Jay & Bey...minus the rich and fame that comes along with it.  A girl can dream can't she!? :)

His OOTD--"Dos Equis"

Top--Old Navy

Shorts--Aeropostale

Shoes--Nike (Foot Action)

I We will be back to do Outfit of the Days, and if not together, at least one of us...that being me!  

Peace & Happiness!

~Erika

Resolutions don't have to be New...

I decided that I want to take more control of what is going on in my life and do more!  I have some many interests that I haven't had the chance to enjoy and I decided that I want to take control and start now.  "It's my life and I'm taking control now!"  I have a lot that I feel I can offer others and I will be starting with training myself and jumping onboard.  I may also be a future YouTuber so look out!  What are your resolutions?  How do you find time to do the things you love versus those things you are "obligated" to do?

Fear...less???

It has come to my attention that many of the children in this current generation have NO fear that I had when it came to being respectful and following directives that are given by adults.  Even children don't have the respect or integrity to follow the directives that are given by their own parents!  Needless to say we are also in the generation where technology is way more advanced and they are pumping steroids in our chicken and contaminating our fruits and vegetables.  I don't blame some parents for having their children being vegetarians at the ripe age of five (and believe I know some that are).  But the lack of fear and respect for adults is out of control.  I don't expect children to fear adults in a way that would leave them feeling intimidated and terrorized for the rest of their life, but hell can they at least know that once an adult raises their voice they aren't playing games!  In my role as a school counselor, I'm not a disciplinarian even though I am left with the students who misbehave the most.  Which at times I feel is an advantage because I don't have to deal with the administrative side of behavior and then a disadvantage because the students don't take me seriously or don't listen to me at all.  This comes from the lack of respect that is being instilled in children of this generation and goes to show how much respect they have of any one of authority.  This also becomes an emotional drain on the end of being a counselor because you have to play so many different scenarios in your head and utilize techniques for each individual child.  As you learn in grad school, "one technique doesn't work for all children."  You literally end up racking your brain sometime just to figure out a trigger for one child and then you find out that technique fails.  Or is that just me?  *looks around sheepishly*  Overall, I don't know if it's the children, the parents, or both.  We can all say its because there are children raising children...yeah yeah yeah.  However, some of those children grew up with some type of fear so who do we "blame" that on?  I place blame in quotations because there is no one particular person, place or thing that we can blame it on.  Everyday I find myself taking notes on what steps I would take to avoid such and what I can do to instill the "fear" that is needed in order for children to know that they must respect authority and all authority.  Those they know and those they don't know because they never know one day they may meet that person again and really need them....what goes around comes around and trust it's coming, you just don't know when...

God's Time

Before this year, I was so use to planning what I wanted to happen and hoping that it would happen in due time, meaning MY time, but for some reason it never did.  I was dating a guy at one point when he told me, “When you plan, God’s laughs.”  That stuck with me more than he did because I came to realize that all the planning and everything I went through trying to make things happen, God’s time and plans He already had for me wouldn’t allow it.  I can remember when I was younger that I would talk about wanting something so much or planning to do something and it never happened.  I guess I can laugh now because according to God it wasn’t meant to be.  I have had my fair deal of relationships and when I say fair deal I use that term in its lightest form.  I was constantly seeking for something, but always with the wrong guys.  After the age of 23, I wasn’t dating just to be dating.  I was looking to be with someone long term hoping that they wanted the same thing.  Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side, until the season changes and the wind blows.  Then the leaves become discolored, showing the grasses true color, which was either brown or no color at all, the sky wasn’t blue, more grayish, and the sunny days were far from keeping the thunderstorms away.  Little did I know that God was still planning for me, through the sunny and rainy days.  In September 2012, I had reconnected with a childhood sweetheart through the Recommended Friends list on Facebook.  I eagerly hit “request friend” and went on to my News Feed a usual.  Not long after sending the friend request was I greeted by him in my messages.  We talked for a little just catching up on the “hey, how you doings” and “long time no sees.”  He gave me his number yet I was hesitant to call.  I went out of town that weekend and came back home to fulfill another week of duties.  When the following weekend came, after being at my cousin’s house, I thought about hitting him up but again was still hesitant.  ”Girl, go ahead and hit him up,” my cousin said to me.  My only response was, “Okay.”  LOL.  Any who we made plans that night to meet up at the bar, talk and have some drinks.  It was already late leaving my cousin’s house so I was a little nervous since I was going by myself.  I arrived about ten minutes before him thinking all types of things.  Am I going to like him?  Does he look the same as he did when we younger?  Of course he doesn’t fool, we’re GROWN! Okay just calm your nerves.  He finally arrived, greeted me with a hug, and we went inside.  I can’t tell you what we talked about, but we TALKED.  For a good two hours until we got kicked out of the bar because they were closing (that’s what you get when you live in Virginia; bars that close EARLY smh).  Anyway, he walked me to my car, hugged me with a nice tight hug.  I still remember it like it was yesterday and I went home.  He made sure that I made it home and its has been history since!  That was God’s plan.  For us to reconnect after YEARS of not talking or seeing each other and to pick up as if we never had stopped talking.  God continues to bless me, us, since we moved to Florida, moved into our own place, and now are engaged to be married.  Although things didn’t work out with others, even the one who reminded me of the quote, it was all in God’s time and planning. Ya’ll be blessed…

What am I doing wrong?!??

I often find myself comparing where I am and where I should be.  I am only 27 and have a lot going for myself, but I don’t give myself the credit that I deserve.  I’m always looking at the things I want versus the things that I need or already have.  Being that I moved from Virginia to Florida, it took a lot of nerve and courage to move from my comfort zone to what I didn’t know.  On top of that, during the time I moved I didn’t even have a job.  Starting in 2010, I started taking more leaps of faith then sitting back and waiting until the time that I thought I was ready.  Surprisingly, I have been faced with situations such as working part time or not having a job and having to pay rent, a car note, and utilities with no means of income at all.  Those were the times that I knew I was being held on faith and my trust with the Lord became stronger.  Now as I write this post, I feel that I’m disappointing Him because I’m always asking “what am I doing wrong?”  And what I mean by that question is why don’t I have a nicer car, but I have a car.  Why can’t I save money?  But my bills and rent are paid.  Why, why why?  And I feel bad internally because I feel like I’m being selfish and not waiting for my time and comparing my time to someone else’s.   The saying is that people don’t know the struggle someone else has been through to have what they have.  I know it’s not the time for me to be wealthy or rich.  The time for me is right now and right now I have what I need and more.  Now I have to ask myself what am I going to say or do when I start asking what and why?  I’ll have to remind myself of what it took to get to where I am, and how much I have grown…”Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows what’s best for us.”–Socrates.  Everyone be blessed…